November 22

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colours.

4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren; and they hated him yet the more.

6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright, and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obedience to my sheaf.

8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or Shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his works.

9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obtrusive to me.

10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feel the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Hier, and I.

14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that rest on him:

24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit; and the pit rest empty, there was no water in it.

25 And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we stay our brother, and conceal his blood?

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27 Come, and set us sail him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh; and his brethren were content

28 Then there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver; and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whether shall I go?

31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found, know now whether it be thy son's coat or no

33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath uncovered him; Joseph is without God's rent in pieces.

34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his lions, and mourned for his son many days.

35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father went for him.

36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.

Joseph's is one of the most interesting histories in the world. He has the strange power of uniting our hearts to him as to a well-beloved friend. He had "the genius to be loved greatly," because he had the genius to love greatly, and his genius still lives in these Bible pages.

"We discover in Joseph—1. A hated brother. The boy was his father's pet. Very likely he was the perfect picture of Rachel, who was gone, and so Jacob saw and loved in him his sainted wife. In token of love his father foolishly gave him a coat of many colors, to which, alas! the color of blood was soon added. It was for no good reason that his brothers hated him. Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Not that he was a sneaking tell-tale, but he would not do as they did, nor would he hide from his father their evil doings. God means the children of a family to feel bound together by bands that grapple the heart and to stand true to one another's life's end. 2. Joseph was a type of Christ. Joseph, like Jesus, was his father's well-beloved son, the best of brothers, yet hated and rejected by his own; was sold from envy for a few pieces of silver, endured a great temptation, yet without sin; was brought into a low estate and falsely condemned; was the greatest of forgivers, the forgiver of his own murderers, and was in all things the son and hope of Israel."—J. Wells.

Closet Promise.—Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away.—Job xi. 16.

I look around me, and think how many are in the same trouble as myself, perhaps much greater, and they have no Father to go to. I look behind me, and think of all the way I have been led, and the mercy upon mercy which I have experienced. I look beneath me, and think of the hell which I deserve, but which has no place for me. I look before and above me, and think of my heaven at the door. Jesus my forerunner there, my God there, where through wondrous grace I shall soon be myself. And by the time I have looked at this last all my trouble is gone.—Bishop Bull.